Dancing with the Stars legend Harold Wheeler has died on Wednesday June 24 at the age of 82 following a lengthy illness Wednesday, June 24, at his home in Los Angeles. His death was confirmed by longtime family friend, Broadway producer Lamar Richardson.
He was the longtime musical director for the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show. He served as both the musical director and composer for the first 17 seasons between 2005 and 2013, exiting in 2014 before the show’s 18th season. Prior to joining the hit ABC show, which features former Britain’s Got Talent star Bruno Tonioli as one of the judges, Harold was a famed Broadway orchestrator and received a Tony Award in 2019 for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. The Hollywood Reporter quoted him as saying: “I was going to thank every cast member for every show I’ve ever been in, until I realised I’ve done 30 Broadway shows.”
The star began his career on Broadway in 1968 at the age of just 25 when he was picked by Burt Bacharach to orchestrate Promises, Promises.
Throughout his lengthy career, he oversaw many high-profile events. In 1996, he was a conductor of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics. In 2004, he was named Music Conductor for the 76th Academy Awards. He followed that up three years later by being named music arranger for the 79th Oscars.
He also lent his talents to the small screen on shows such as The Magical World of Disney, The Jacksons: An American Dream, and Homefront. Alongside this, he worked on many Broadway-to-TV specials such as Hairspray, Dreamgirls and Love! Valour! Compassion!
Tributes flooded in for the legendary star as news of his death became public knowledge.
Music legends The Temptations posted on Facebook: “[we]are deeply saddened by the passing of a true musical titan and dear friend, Harold Wheeler. As the brilliant orchestrator for Ain’t Too Proud, Harold masterfully brought our story and the Classic Five sound to life on the Broadway stage. The music world has lost a giant, but his genius lives on in the harmonies he left behind.”
Composer Bill Russell penned: “I am so saddened to hear of Harold Wheeler’s passing … he orchestrated 3 shows i wrote with Henry Krieger … he would work in his hotel room, no keyboard or other instrument and in the case of Side Show write charts for 24 instruments! … plus he was just a great hang … … i am so lucky to have known him.”
Entertainment reporter George Pennacchio chimed in: “He was the nicest of men. I chatted with Harold Wheeler many, many times over the 17 seasons he spent as the musical director of Dancing With The Stars….May he R.I.P.
Film and TV composer Marc Shaiman reflected: “Harold Wheeler was a great man and a phenomenal orchestrator…My heart goes out to his wonderful wife, Hattie Winston Wheeler, and family. This is a great loss, but he sure did make use of the time and talent God graced him with. Here’s to Harold Wheeler, one of the all-time greats!”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
